Ryu's Vacation 2
by Snafu the Great
Summary: Following the first failed vacation attempt, Ryu goes on a two-week vacation. As usual, mayhem ensues as his rivals challenge him to fights. Special thanks to trutenor for allowing me to write the sequel.
1. Default Chapter

Ryu's Vacation 2

A Street Fighter Fanfiction

By The Headcrook  
  
Legal BS Disclaimer: All Characters herein are the property of Capcom Entertainment and SNK Playmore. The story and ideas of Ryu's Vacation are the property of my writer-in-arms, Trutenor. I just asked him if I can write a sequel and he agreed.  
  
Also, I'm taking a little break until after my b-day. Then I'll be back in full force with my writings.  
  
The Story so Far...  
  
Where we last left our resident fighter, the President of Capcom had given him a week off to rest and recover. However during all those days (except when he was travelling) he was challenged and attacked by his rivals (Akuma, Sakura, M. Bison, Sagat, Evil Ryu) This is what had happened when Ryu had returned to work the following Monday...  
  
Ryu faced off against Dan Hibiki. When Ryu executed his Vaccuum Hurricane Kick, he ends up passing out, due to the exhaustion. Dan, in the meantime, was rejoicing over his victory. "Yahooey! Never underestimate the power of Saikyo!"  
  
In the meantime, the President of Capcom, who was watching, was furious. "Cut! That wasn't in the script! Ryu! What's the matter with you? Why are you so tired? I told you to take a vacation last week!"  
  
Ryu manages to raise his head and replies, "I tried, but people wouldn't leave me alone! Everywhere I went, people kept challenging me to a fight!" Then he passes out again.  
  
The President shakes his head. "Crap! I knew this would happen to him! He's passed out from overexhaustion! Ryu is going to need 2 weeks of rest now!"  
  
Part One - Week One  
  
**-Monday Afternoon...-**  
  
Following the fiasco at the Capcom Headquarters, Ryu was given a two-week vacation (with pay). In the meantime, the Capcom President was busy reprimanding all those fighters who had disrupted Ryu's earlier vacation.  
  
"If I find out that ANYONE of you interrupts Ryu's vacation, then I will fire all of you!"  
  
Meanwhile, Ryu - in casual dress was - at a sumo tournament, watching Edmonda Honda fight. As usual, Honda defends his grand champion title with little difficulty. After the competition, Ryu catches up with his old friend.  
  
Honda was surprised. "Ah! My friend!" He sweeps the smaller man in a bear hug.  
  
"Gack! Honda, air!" Ryu managed to get out.  
  
Honda dropped the Shotokan fighter. "What brings you to my domain?"  
  
"The President of Capcom put me on a two-week vacation, so I thought I'd come and see you compete."  
  
Honda bellowed out a laugh. "It's good to see that you are a fan of sumo! Come, we will celebrate my latest victory at the best restaurant in town!"  
  
Before they can reach the exit, however, the doors literally explode in flames. Stepping through the flames, was SNK's own posterboy, Kyo Kusanagi.  
  
Kyo points at Ryu. "RYU! You owe me a rematch!"  
  
Ryu groaned. "Can this wait, Kusanagi? I'm on vacation!"  
  
Kyo shook his head. "So the great Ryu Hoshi is scared that he will lose to the next generation?" he taunts.  
  
Ryu puffed at that. "That's it."  
  
Ryu and Kyo fight. After fifteen minutes, Kyo is unconscious. Ryu looked down at the battered fighter. "You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance!" He looked at Honda. "I'm going home."  
  
**-Tuesday...-**  
  
Knowing that he won't get any peace at home (when you're a most famous martial artist, people has a tendency of dropping in on you), Ryu decides to head south.  
  
'I'll go and visit Makoto.'  
  
At her dojo, Makoto, after beating up several men who challenged her to combat, was surprised to see Ryu at her dojo. "Ryu! It's nice to see you again. What brings you here to my humble home?"  
  
"I'm on vacation."  
  
Makoto frowned. "That's not like you at all. You work harder than everyone else at Capcom!"  
  
"Which is why the President gave me a two-week vacation," Ryu replied. "I was wondering if I can stay here for a couple of days to rest."  
  
Makoto nodded. "You're always welcome in my home, Ryu."  
  
While Makoto was busy with her challengers, Ryu was taking a nap inside her house. About six hours later, someone crashes the party.  
  
When Makoto saw that no one had entered the dojo to challenge her, she steps outside the dojo. All the men were knocked out...by the Illuminati leader Gill.  
  
"What the...?!" Makoto gasped.  
  
Ryu is aroused from his nap by the commotion. He too is surprised at that he sees. Then he sees Gill. "Oh. You."  
  
Gill voices his statement to Ryu. "Ryu! You will join me and help me build a better world!"  
  
Ryu folds his arms across his chest. "I like the world the way it is. Go away, I'm on vacation."  
  
"The ever vigilant never rests," Gill replies. "Fight...or die!"  
  
"Damn it..." Ryu mutters to himself.  
  
Ryu and Gill fight for one hour, mainly because Gill did his Resurrection move, but a battered Ryu puts Gill down for the count.  
  
After kicking the unconscious Illuminati chieftain in the head several times, Ryu decides to go to Hong Kong and pay his respects to Gen.  
  
**-Wednesday morning, Hong Kong...-  
**  
Ryu arrives at Gen's martial arts school before noon. Surprizingly, Chun Li is also there, paying her respects to the eldery fighter. This time, Chun Li glops onto his arm as she and Ryu bid Gen farewell.  
  
The couple spend the day together walking in the streets of Hong Kong and doing some window shopping. Upon arriving at a small cafe in the industrial section of the City, they found that it was blocked off, mainly because Fei Long was shooting a scene for his movie there.  
  
However, the aforementioned movie star managed to get them inside. While Fei was shooting a scene with a female star, Ryu and Chun Li were at a table, talking with one another.  
  
"So what have you've been doing since you left?" Chun Li asked.  
  
"Last week, I was attacked by Akuma, Sakura and Bison, remember?" Ryu replied. "After I left China, I was attacked by Sagat while visiting Ken and I had to fight my dark side when I returned to Japan. As a result, I overworked myself and now I'm on a two-week vacation from Capcom. You?"  
  
Chun Li held up three fingers. "Three-week vacation from Interpol." She then beamed. "I was going to come to Japan and visit you, but instead, I find you here."  
  
Their conversation was interrupted by a sneak attack by the Spanish ninja Vega. Before he could managed to attack Chun Li, Ryu fired off a Hadouken at the intruder, knocking him back.  
  
Before Vega could attack again, he was blindsighted by Fei's Rekkaken, knocking off his mask and forcing Vega to retreat to a safe distance.  
  
Fei spoke to Ryu. "Stand back. I'll handle pretty boy here."  
  
Ryu was surprised by Fei's gesture. "Fei--"  
  
Fei cut him off. "You're on vacation, so enjoy it. Cause when it's over, I'm coming for a rematch."  
  
"I look forward to it," Ryu replied.  
  
"Go for the face," Chun Li added.  
  
With Ryu and Chun Li watching, Fei Long and Vega fight. Eventhough Fei looked like Bruce Lee after the final fight in Enter the Dragon, he succeed in mangling Vega's face about twenty minutes later.  
  
After the match, Ryu and Chun Li walked over to Fei, who was getting medical treatment. "You're gonna be okay?" Ryu asked.  
  
"I've had worse," Fei replied. He looked at the unconscious Vega, who was being carted off in an ambulance. "Mainly from you. Looks like I'll have to postpone shooting for today. So try and have fun, okay?"  
  
Ryu made good on Fei's promise. Forgetting about Vega's attempted ambush, the two resumed their day together. The rest of the day was uneventful, until they reached the city waterfront. By that time, the sun was starting to set. The pair watched a ferry as it moved across the water.  
  
Ryu looked at his companion as she watched the city skyline. She then noticed him looking at her. "What?"  
  
"Nothing," Ryu replied. "I can't look at the person who holds a special place in my heart?"  
  
"That's sweet," Chun Li replied. "I guess you do know how to treat a lady."  
  
"I try."  
  
Chun Li smiles at Ryu. Then she notices something - or rather someone - behind them. Actually, it was two women. Ryu notices the sour look on Chun Li's face and turns around. Then his face became a mirror image of Chun Li's.  
  
Standing behind them were the Twin Dolls, Juli and Juni.  
  
Ryu sighed. "And the day was doing so well."  
  
"Target confirmed," Juli said.  
  
"General Bison wants you to come with us," Juni continued.  
  
"Resistance is futile, Ryu," Juli went on.  
  
"Surrender and you will not be harmed...much," Juni finished.  
  
Ryu fumed. "I've never felt so compelled to beat down two women," Ryu mused, "especially Shadowlaw members." He turned to Chun Li. "Stand back."  
  
"But you're on vacation," Chun Li objected.  
  
"And those two won't listen to reason," Ryu pointed out. "So I guess I'll have to oblige them."  
  
As Chun Li stepped to the side, Ryu faced off against Juli and Juni. About forty minutes later, both women were knocked out. Ryu was left bruised and battered from the ordeal.  
  
Chun Li was at Ryu's side in an instant. "Are you okay?"  
  
Ryu grunted as he held his side. "I'll live."  
  
Chun Li grabbed his arm. "Come on. I'll take you to my hotel."  
  
Later on, a shirtless Ryu was getting his injuries tended to by Chun Li. Ryu's left bicep was already bandaged, and Chun Li was applying a salve to a rather nasty bruise on his ribs.  
  
"Will your ribs heal up?" Chun Li asked.  
  
Ryu nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry about today. About Vega and Juli and Juni wrecking our day together."  
  
Chun Li shook her head. "It's okay. At least I got to see you again."  
  
Ryu nodded. "Same here."  
  
"Maybe next time we meet, you won't have any fighters chasing after you," Chun Li said.  
  
"Maybe next time, I'll give all of them the slip."  
  
"And when you do, I'll come looking for you."  
  
**-Friday afternoon-**  
  
After the Hong Kong fiasco (and spending the night on the sofa in Chun Li's room), Ryu left Hong Kong and went back to the USA. Unfortunately, he lost a day because the distance between Asia and North America was well over 2000 miles. That and the connecting flight in Hawaii was delayed.  
  
This time, he was headed for Southtown.  
  
Ryu arrives in the city and takes a cab to visit Terry Bogard. Upon arriving at Terry's flat, the Lone Wolf was surprised to find Ryu at his doorstep.  
  
"Ryu? What are you doing here? It's been a while!"  
  
"My boss over at Capcom has put me on vacation and I was getting hassled over in Japan and Hong Kong, so I had to come here to find peace and quiet."  
  
"You're more than welcome to hang out over here with me. Most of the fighters in the city are over in Japan anyway, so you can probably rest up here for a while."  
  
"Thanks, Terry."  
  
After cathing up on current events, Terry decides to take Ryu to the infamous Pao Pao Cafe for dinner. En route to the Pao Pao, Ryu gets stopped by Terry's younger brother, Andy, who was looking for a chance to fight the Shotokan master.  
  
Andy stepped in front of Ryu and voices his challenge. "Ryu! I'm calling you out! Fight me!"  
  
"I thought you were with Mai," Terry said. "Where is she?"  
  
"I gave her the slip," Andy replied.  
  
"Really?" Ryu mused. "Is your girlfriend five feet four, Japanese, long red hair tied in a ponytail, curvaceous, and carries a fan?"  
  
That caught Andy off guard. "How do you know that? You haven't met Mai."  
  
Ryu pointed to Andy, or rather, behind him. "I have now. She's right behind you."  
  
Andy went pale as he slowly turned around. Sure enough, a furious Mai Shiranui was standing behind him, the aforementioned fan in one hand. Before Andy could say anything in his defense, Mai grabbed him and dragged him off. Ryu was slightly relieved that he managed to avoid a second fight.  
  
However, Ryu's arrival also caught the attention of a certain French kickboxer, who placed a call to her boyfriend.  
  
At the Pao Pao Cafe, Ryu and Terry were catching up on old times over dinner. "It's not like you to take a vacation," Terry said. "What gives?"  
  
Ryu told him about his first vacation attempt, of how his enemies and rivals kept interfering and that he was now on a two-week vacation from Capcom.  
  
"Yeah, well, you do work harder than everyone at Capcom," Terry admitted. "I think you really do need a vacation."  
  
"I also have friends in New York," Ryu said. "He's a wrestler, and I've been meaning to visit him since the last Street Fighter Tournament."  
  
Before Terry could sat anything else, the doors to the cafe were thrown open. In stepped the Kyokugen Trio - Ryo Sakazaki, his sister Yuri, and Robert Garcia. Along with them was King.  
  
They saw Ryu with Terry and marched over to his table. "Ryu! There you are!" Ryo said. "We finally meet at last! Now we settle this!"  
  
"Can't this wait until later?" Ryu snidely replies. "I'm on vacation."  
  
"I don't care if you were in a hospital bed!" Ryo shot back. "All we ever hear is that our Kyokugen style is nothing more than a ripoff of Shotokan Karate!"  
  
"Maybe they're right," Ryu replied. "Everyone in both Capcom and SNK know that your Kyokugen Karate can't stand up to Shotokan."  
  
"That's it!" Robert snarled.  
  
Both Ryo and Robert double team Ryu, who defended himself against their onslaught. About one hour later, Robert went through a table and Ryo was tossed over the bar. While Ryu was catching his breath, Yuri tried to pull a sneak attack on him by performing her Hyper Upper - her own version of Ryu's Shinshoryuken.  
  
Ryu spun around and caught her wrist, just as it was about to impact his already bruised ribs. "And you..." Ryu began. He then performed his own Shinshoryuken on Yuri, knocking her into a second table. "If I find out that you steal any more of my moves, then the next words you'll be hearing is Denjin Hadouken!"  
  
Ryu and Terry then leave, leaving a stunned audience at the carnage that has ensued.  
  
**-Friday night-**  
  
New York. Following the directions that were burned into his memory, Ryu headed up to a small gym in the Bronx. Upon entering the establishment, he found the wrestler Alex talking with his mentor, Tom.  
  
Alex looks up and sees his rival. "Ryu! What are you going here? Is it that time of the month that we spar again?"  
  
Ryu shook his head. "I'm on vacation, and I keep getting into fights everywhere I go. This would be the last place that anyone expect to find me here."  
  
"We're going camping tomorrow," Tom cut in. "You know anything about the outdorrs, Ryu?"  
  
"I was raised in the outdoors," Ryu replied. "Camping was one of my hobbies."  
  
The next day, Alex, Patricia, Ryu, and Tom packed their things and were off to the mountains. Ryu showed off his expertise in outdoor camping and fishing, not to mention what herbs were medincinal and poisonous.  
  
Saturday was uneventful. On Sunday, however...  
  
"You know I hate the outdoors!"  
  
"Sorry, boss."  
  
The three Americans and their Japanese guest looked up from their lunch around the fireplace. Stepping from a wooded path was the former Mad Gear member, Poison and her client, the massive wrestler Hugo.  
  
"Damn it!" Ryu swore. "How do they keep finding me?!"  
  
Poison looked up and saw Ryu among his hosts. "There you are, Ryu! You are such a hard man to find! We've been looking all over for you!"  
  
"Gee, I wonder what for?" Ryu replied sarcastically.  
  
"Hugo needs a partner in the wrestling business, and--"  
  
"Not interested," Ryu said, cutting Poison off.  
  
"You have no choice in the matter," Poison said. "Either join me or I'll have Hugo knock you out."  
  
"He can try," Ryu replied.  
  
Hugo and Ryu then fight for nearly an hour. Poison tried to interfere, but was knocked out by Patricia and her trusty frying pan. In the end, it was Ryu's Vaccuum Hurricane Kick that punted Hugo into the lake.  
  
Ryu looked at the floating Hugo and turned to Alex. "Can you give me a lift to the airport? I have to go."  
  
This ends Ryu's first week of vacation. Unfortunately, he still has a week to go. We'll see what happens next.


	2. Part Two

Part Two - Week Two 

Following Ryu's destroying of the Kyokugen school, the majority of the contestants from the King of Fighters tournaments - with the blessings of the SNK President - are now working to find Ryu and challenge him to a fight. However, in order to make sure Capcom's posterboy enjoys his vacation, the Capcom President takes several serious steps.

-Monday, somewhere in Brazil...-

After the fight with Hugo, Ryu decided to head south.

In several hours, he was in Brazil, on a boat somewhere in the Amazon Basin. He then arrives at a riverside village and ventures into the forest, looking for a friend that he hasn't seen since the last tournament. It didn't take too long for Ryu to find him. Mainly because he followed the trail of partially eaten pineapples and watermelon.

In a small clearing, Ryu found Jimmy Blanka.

Blanka looked up at his visitor. "Rowr! Hwoooo rawhr who hoo!" (Ryu! What brings you to Brazil?)

"I'm taking a break from fighting, Blanka," Ryu replied. "And I need a place to stay for a couple of days." In the back of Ryu's mind he was thinking, 'How the hell I know what he's saying?'

"Argh hwoo hoo! Rawhr arhr hwoo hoo!" (You can stay here in the jungle with me! No one will find you here.)

"Can you at least speak English?" Ryu asked.

Blanka rose to his full height. "Of course I can speak English. I just speak like I'm a mindless beast to throw people off."

"Oh."

Ryu and Blanka spend the day fishing. Later on, while Blanka was preparing a feast of fish, coconut milk and pineapple slices, Adon shows up. "Ryu! I knew I'd find you here! Come and face the God of Muay Thai!"

"Well, 'God of Muay Thai,'" Ryu replied sarcastically, "I'm on a break. What did I do to you anyway?"

"You dishonored the style of Muay Thai when you beat Sagat!" Adon barked out.

Ryu shrugged his shoulders. "So? You hate Sagat now. What's your point?"

"I plan on restoring the honor of my great style...on your face! Jaguar--"

BONK!

As Adon flipped into the air into his Jaguar Tooth move, a coconut intercepted the side of his face, knocking him into the river. Ryu looked at Blanka, who was tossing a extra coconut in the air.

The manbeast flashed Ryu a grin before chomping into the coconut. "Rowr argh hwoo." (He had it coming.)

When Adon resurfaced, he was pissed. "You dare interfere in my match?!" he yelled at Blanka.

"Hwoo yowl argh rowr," Blanka replied. "Whoo hoo hwoo." (You should be worried about yourself, Adon. There's pirhana in those waters.)

Adon blinked "P-pirhana?"

As soon as Adon uttered that word, several dozen of the aforementioned carnivorous fish poked their heads out of the water, their small, sharp teeth glistening in the afternoon sun. With a howl, Adon swam for his life, pursued by dozens of hungry pirhana.

Ryu couldn't help himself. He began to laugh.

-Tokyo, Japan, Wednesday morning...-

Upon arriving at the airport in Rio de Janeiro, Ryu found a plane ticked waiting for him, courtesy of his friend, Ken. The destination read Tokyo. Figuring he had nothing to lose, Ryu decided to take his chances with the plane ticket.

When Ryu arrived in Japan, he found both Ken and Guile waiting for him.

Ryu looked at the two men, knowing that they were both brother-in-laws. "You two getting along?" he mused. "That's a first."

"Actually," Ken replied. "We're here to help you with your little vacation problem, buddy."

"The President of Capcom told us to put you somewhere safe until your vacation is over," Guile said. He pointed a thumb to Ken. "And Ken has just the place."

-Somewhere in northern Japan, near Aomori, later on...-

Ryu's hideout was in fact a small retreat nestled within the woods. The location of the cottage close to the sea, and to Ryu, it felt like he was back at home.

When Ryu entered the structute, he was caught in a hug by Chun Li, who was still on her break from Interpol. Apparently, Ken had set it up so that Ryu wouldn't be by himself the remining week.

"Also," Ken added. "The President has told you to take an couple more days off to make up for the week you lost."

"Great," Ryu replied.

"Don't worry about anyone finding you," Guile said. "This place is almost as good as your hideout in India, so your rivals will keep guessing where you are until your vacation is over."

"Thanks," Ryu replied.

Guile shook his head. "Don't thank me just yet, Ryu. Just remember this, you're man enough to fight with me and win, so a rematch is in order."

Ryu smirked. "Get in line, Guile. I got several people already waiting."

-Meanwhile-

The false locations had made it to Ryu's rivals, mainly the ones from SNK. Acting on the chance of taking down Capcom's top man, they scour the world for him. All the while, Ryu was resting confortably with Chun Li at Ken's hidden Japan retreat.

In Paris, The Ikari Commando Team - Which consists of Heidern, Ralf, Clark, Leona and Whip were seated at an outdoor cafe. They had obviously had gotten one of the phony locations. What they had stumbled onto was the Genma invasion of Paris from Onimusha 3. Not the kind to ask questions, they sprang into action, taking down the majority of the demon soldiers...that is until the director yelled out "Cut!" and started to berate the commandos for wrecking his opening scene and putting some of his stuntmen into the hospital.

In Hong Kong, Takuma Sakazaki - or rather Mr. Karate - paid a visit to Gen's martial arts school with Kim Kaphwan. Obviously, Karate had heard what had happened to his family at the hands of Ryu and wanted some payback. When Gen answered truthfully about not knowing where Ryu was, Karate threatened to destroy Gen's school, forcing Gen to act. Despite Katate being the Kyokugen grandmaster, he was no match for Gen.

Following Karate's defeat, Kim challenged Gen on the grounds that Gen was a former assassin and that he needed to face justice. Gen tried to explain to Kim that he was not in that line of work anymore, but Kim failed to listen. When Kim attacked, he became thoroughly acquainted with Gen's devestating martial arts skills.

-Thursday, nearly noon...-

The first ting Ryu did upon arriving at the retreat was that he slept. He was exhausted from all the traveling and all the fighting. When he finally woke up, he saw that Chun Li had already made lunch.

Over lunch, Ryu opened up to Chun Li about his problems as the World Warrior champion.

"I know it's expected of me, but even someone like me needs a break from fighting. Being one of the world's srtongest fighters is a lot easier to handle when the tea is hot," Ryu confessed.

"So why don't you give it all up?" Chun Li asked. "Step down and retire?"

Ryu shook his head. "As much as I have my gripes about my job, I wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world. I get to beat up other people for a living and not get arrested."

While Ryu and Chun Li caught up on lost time, everyone else were still looking for Ryu. Geese Howard and Rugal Bernstein had crashed the Code: Veronica set searching for Ryu, only to get double-teamed by both Albert Wesker and Alexia Ashford.

Meanwhile, Ryu was starting to relaxt some more, not having to worry about his rivals trying to track him down and challenging him to a fight. He took Chun Li to the Lantern Festival, both dressed in yukatas, but Ryu kept a close eye out on anyone popping out, screming for a fight. So far, no one showed up.

-Friday-

Chun Li spent most of the day traning while Ryu, dressed in only his gi pants and red headband, was doing a split, arms folded, eyes closed. Although he was forbidden tofight and train while on holiday, meditation helped him to keep his senses sharp and to recover from his injuries.

Later, when Chun Li had completed her traning for the day, she was most surprised to see that Ryu had cooked dinner for the both of them.

Chun Li blinked. "Since when did you cooked anything?"

"I've been cooking since I was a teenager."

Chun Li looked at the food. "Looks good."

Over dinner...

"So who taught you how to cook?" Chun Li asked as she and Ryu ate their dinner, which was a combination of Chinese and Japanese dishes.

"Whenever I go and visit Ken, the chefs and Ken's mom would give me some pointers," Ryu replied. "I always liked to cook."

"It shows," Chun Li replied. "You can cook very well."

"When your birthday comes around, maybe I can cook for you," Ryu said.

Chun Li laughed. "I have to watch my weight you insensitive jerk!"

"Just tell me what to cook and maybe I can cook it for you," Ryu said, also laughing.

While they were getting cozy with each other, the Ikari commandos, after getting chased off the Onimusha 3 set, confronted one of the few people who knew the whereabouts of Ryu Hoshi - William Guile. Heidern and his commandos found the commando in England following the fiasco in Paris.

"We know you know where Ryu is," Heidern said.

"So?"

"Where is he?" Ralf demanded.

Guile shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know anything about his present location. The last I heard, he was in Brazil. I don't keep tabs on him."

"Just tell us where he is and we won't have to beat the info out of you," Clark butted in.

"You can try," Guile stated flatly.

Before the Ikari team could jump Guile, fortunately for the latter, some serious backup had arrived in the form of Cammy White and her Delta Red team. The numbers now even, the commandos from both companies battled each other, until Guile and Heidern remained. Despite the fact that Heidern had tagged Guile with several good shots, but Guile was victorious.

"Ryu was man enough to fight with me," Guile stated to the unconscious Heidern. "You, on the other hand..."

-Saturday-

While Ryu and Chun Li were in town, someone was closing in on his location. Or so she thought.

Lian Neville, the buxom blonde assassin from KOF Maximum Impact had heard that Ryu was located at a deserted and ruined castle in the Japanese mountains. Sure enough, she found him in the courtyard, meditating. Of course, the dark gi and the slightly darkened skin was a dead giveaway.

Little did she know that was NOT the real Ryu, but rather his dark, murderous incarnation of the man she was seeking.

Evil Ryu sensed the English assassin by the dark taint in her soul. "What do you want?" he asked.

"Are you Ryu Hoshi?" Lian asked.

Evil Ryu slowly stood up and turned around. "Hmm. In a sense."

Lian was confused. "What do you mean, 'in a sense?'"

"I am Ryu, but not the one you seek," Evil Ryu rasped. "I am his murderous intent."

"Rubbish," Lian replied.

"You came looking for a fight, so be it," Evil Ryu stated, going into his fighting stance. "But you will never leave this place alive."

Lian and Evil Ryu fight. Lian wound up on the receiving end of the Messatsu Gohadou, the force of the blast sent her crashing into the courtyard wall.

Evil Ryu prepared to finish her off, only to be caught off guard by her employer, Duke, the final boss of KOF Maximum Impact. Evil Ryu merely shrugged his clothesline off and faced the newcomer.

"You're Ryu? The top fighter at Capcom?" Duke inquired.

"How many times I have to tell you people," Evil Ryu replied flatly. "I'm not Ryu! I'm his dark--"

"Shut up," Duke replied as he attacked.

Duke was most surprised when most of his attacks were parried and avoided. Then Evil Ryu made his move. When Duke tried another clothesline Evil Ryu teleported behind him and when Duke turned around, Evil Ryu grabbed him and performed the Instant Hell Murder. Instant knockout.

Evil Ryu walked passed Duke - kicking him in the head for good measure - and Lian before stalking out of the castle's courtyard.

"Idiot," Evil Ryu muttered.

At the retreat...

Ryu was still enjoying his vacation - and spending time with Chun Li - without any hinderance. Later on that night, things got a little...steamy for the pair. Okay, steamy was a complete understatment. Chun Li jumped onto Ryu with a passion. They ended up in bed together later on.

Meanwhile, unbeknonst to them, the Ikari commandos have finally wised up and were converging onto the real Ryu's location. That is, until they were chased from the area by a pack of Cereberus (zombie dogs), Hunters, and the cannon-toting Nemesis.

Inside the cabin, the snuggling couple heard the Nemesis roar. "What was that?" Chun Li asked.

Ryu shrugged his big shoulders. "Nothing. Just the wind."

Chun Li shook her head and rested her head on Ryu's chest.

-Sunday-

The next day, Ryu and Chun Li packed their things and left the cottage. Ryu took her to his home near Tokyo. In truth, Ryu had set up the new Shotokan School inside an abandoned shrine, which was restored to near-perfection. Ryu had inherited it following their deaths and stayed there ever since.

Ryu gave her the tour. The shrine itself was two stories, the first floor being the main dojo, and the second floor the living quarters, which was more like a penthouse-style apartment.

"All this time, I always wondered whether you lived in a cave," Chun Li said.

Ryu shrugged his shoulders. "Most people still do. I like to keep them guessing. I like this place. Other than Gouken's dojo, I'm here." To answer Chun Li, unasked question about the living quarters, Ryu replied, "It was Ken's idea to rennovate."

"At least I know that you're not a total hermit," Chun Li said.

"I'm usually not at home," Ryu retorted.

-Shadowlaw Headquarters - Mriganka Island, Thailand...-

General M. Bison was interrupted from his usual treatment in his Psycho Drive when the klaxons sounded, signaling an intruder. Stepping out of the chamber, grumbling to himself, wearing nothing but the bottom half of his usual Shadowlaw uniform. Bison grabbed his shirt/shoulder harnesses and slipped that on, the top button undone as he fastened the belt on his waist and threw his cape over his shoulders. He managed to grab his trademark hat on the way out of the chamber.

Upon stepping out into the corridor, he saw many of his men strewn across the corridor. He then found the reason why: the Orochi wind master Leopold Goenitz, along with Yashiro Nanakase, Chris, and Shermie - the Orochi New Faces Team - had infiltrated his base and was causing general chaos.

Goenitz notices Bison standing before him. "General Bison, I presume? You have something that I want."

"You reputation proceeds you, Goenitz," Bison replied smoothly, knowing Goenitz by sight. He looked around. "You and your...'kings' managed to take down my best men, so I give to you one-time special offer - join me."

"I want something more than your pathetic organization," Goenitz replied. "You know the whereabouts of Ryu Hoshi, and we would like that...now."

Bison flashed his trademark grin. "You dare make demands?! All of you will suffer in my Psycho Drive!" He began to hover a few feet off the ground, his hands encased in flames. "Anyone who opposes me will be destroyed!"

Goenitz send his subordinates on Bison. They fell, one by one to Bison's Psycho Power. This was something that Goenitz was not expecting to happen.

Bison stopped for a moment to adjust his uniform. "These are the so-called Heavenly Kings of Orochi?" he taunted. "Not even worth my time." He raised one hand, preparing to fire off a Psycho Shot at Goenitz. "I can just blast you with my power and call it a day." He then lowered his hand and threw the cape off his shoulders. "Instead, after I beat you to a pulp, I will extract the secrets of the Orochi from your body and combine it with my own Psycho Power."

Both Goenitz and Bison go head-to-head in a clash of the titans. In the end, Leopold Goenitz was defeated. Bison couldn't be any happier.

"Now the secrets of Orochi will be mine! All of you will suffer for eternity as human batteries!"

-Back at Ryu's hideout...-

On the grounds of Ryu's home, Chun Li and her host were both sitting on the roof of the house. "This place is amazing," Chun Li said. "And the view here is incredible."

"Now you see why I like coming here," Ryu said. "Why I like the seclusion. I like to practice and meditate here without being interrupted. The only time I get challenged is when I'm at my dojo."

"So when you're going back to work?" Chun Li asked.

"I don't know. Maybe tomorrow, or later on this week. I do have some extra days left, but I might be heading back in on Tuesday."

"Can you give me a tour of Tokyo then?" Chun Li asked.

Ryu nodded. "Sure. But there's something I have to do first."

-A cementary, near Tokyo...-

Before Ryu took Chun Li to Tokyo, he decided to pay his respects to his master Gouken. He visited his master's grave, bringing flowers with him. Chun Li tagged along, and watched from a short distance as Ryu placed the flowers in front of the headstone and whispered several words of prayer.

When Ryu stood up and turned around, he saw another woman standing behind Chun Li. Chun Li also senses something wrong and turns around. Standing behind them was the holder and participant of the 1996 King of Fighters Tournament, Chizuru Kagura.

For a moment, nobody moved. It was a Japanese standoff. Chizuru looked at Ryu, then at the headstone behind him. Ralising that he was there paying his respects, Chizuru turned and departed without incident.

"She didn't fight you," Chun Li noted. "Why didn't she?"

"Honor," Ryu simply replied. "Even someone like Chizuru knows never to lower herself by fighting me in front of the grave of my master."

"Oh."

-Downtown Tokyo...-

Ryu and Chun Li were at an outdoor cafe in Tokyo's Shinjuku district. The moment was then interrupted by a very drunk King, the stench of alcohol announcing her presence.

"Ryu..." King sluured. "You put my boyfriend in the hospital for three weeks, as well as the rest of his family."

Ryu frowned. "You're drunk, King. Go home."

"Shaddup!" King tries to attack Ryu, but consuming several bottles of booze can pretty much alter your fighting skills. After Ryu doges and parries King's blows for several minutes, Ryu decided to end this one-sided match.

"I'm gonna hate myself for this," he mutters. "Shinkuu...HADOUKEN!"

The huge fireball struck King like a comet, ripping her fighting uniform off, leaving her in partiallly shredded clothes and her underwear. Shaking his head, Ryu paid for the food and he and Chun Li walked away.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Well, almost.

Ryu and Chun Li acted like a normal couple, rather than world-class martial artists. Later in the afternoon, while visiting Guy and Rena in the park, the peaceful afternoon was wrecked when four tanks, driven by the Metal Slug crew - Marco, Tarma, Fio and Eri - came crashing through the trees.

Ryu frowned. "What now?"

"There you are!" Marco yelled from the loudspeaker. "You got to deal with us now, Ryu!"

Ryu stood up and faced the four tanks. "Can't you guys see I'm on vacation? You SNK guys are starting to piss me off!" He then fired off a Denjin Hadouken.

Upon connecting with Marco's tank, the following result was that of an electromagnetic pulse. The EMP fried the other three tanks' electric systems, disabling them.

The Metal Slug crew was helpless as they watched Ryu and company walk off.

"Geez," Ryu fumed. "Even the guys from Dead or Alive, Tekken or Mortal Kombat aren't as bad as these guys! At least they know when to leave me alone!"

After the standoff, Ryu and Chun Li returned to Aomori. There, they went to one of the local restaurants and ordered some takeout before returning to Ryu's home. While watching an old samurai movie, they ate their dinner.

"This has been quite the vacation," Ryu mused. "Makes me glad that I'm going back to work tomorrow."

"Are you sure that you'll be rested up?" Chun Li asked.

Ryu nodded. "I'm sure. I thought it was going to be bad this past week, but aside from what happened in Tokyo, it's been pretty uneventful. Oh, and you can stay here as long as you want if you like."

"Thanks, but I promised Master Gen that I'd help teach the students when I return to Hong Kong. That will take a week, then I mught go back to China, or I might come back here. It really has been great being with you, Ryu."

"Same here, Chun Li."

-Monday-

After seeing Chun Li to the airport, Ryu returned to work.

Dressed in casual attire - a black T-shirt, denim pants and sandals and toting a sports bag in one hand - Ryu emerged from the taxi cab and walked into Capcom HQ.

After showering and changing into his usual karate gi and red headband, he ran into the Capcom President.

"There you are!" the President said. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel refreshed," Ryu replied. He then noticed someone behind the President. "One moment."

That person that Ryu saw behind the President was none other than Dan Hibiki, who was still gloating over his 'victory' over Ryu. In the meantime, the President ordered a film crew to be sent to where Ryu was headed.

"Yeah! I took down the almighty Ryu!" Dan was bragging to the intern. He shook one fist in the air. "Now everyone can see that Sakiyo is the ultimate style!"

Ryu tapped Dan on the shoulder. As Dan started to turn around...

"Shinkuu..."

When Dan was facing Ryu, he saw that he was preparing for the Vaccuum Hurriance Kick. The one word Dan managed to get was, "Crap."

"TATSUMAKI SENPUUKYAKU!!"

SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!SMACK!KA-POW!

Ryu spun violently into the air, kicking Dan numerous times, the final kick punting Dan out the window and flying across the Tokyo skyline, the latter screaming out, "OYAJIIII!" as he went.

Ryu landed on the floor.

"That was perfect!" the President said. "And we got that in one take!"

The President's assistant looked out the window. "Uh, sir..."

The President looked up. "What?"

"A huge number of fighters from KOF are outside our building!"

"How many?"

The assistant looked at the president with a worried expression. "All of them, I think."

Ryu was already on his way to the front door.

"Ryu!" the President objected. "You can't take them all on!"

"Watch me," the Shotokan fighter replied.

As the President watched from the building, Ryu challenged, fought and defeated all of the King of Fighters in under three hours. As Ryu stood victorious over the fallen multitude, the President of Capcom was happy that soneone the likes of Ryu Hoshi was working for him.

And with the brawl outside of Capcom Headquarters, so ends Ryu's vacation.

END


End file.
